A man probably believed he had discovered the ideal moment to target a stunning young woman with his unwelcome advances when he saw a fit woman working out by herself in the gym at her apartment complex. His targeted victim, however, was not having any of it. It was all captured on camera, how the young woman retaliated angrily.
The 24-year-old Florida woman has opened up about the frightening ordeal that was captured on surveillance camera video in which she fiercely fought off a man who attacked her in the gym of her Tampa apartment complex. Nashali Alma was commended for her bravery, as the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shared the footage on Instagram, where it quickly began to go viral.
Nashali Alma is an NPC Wellness competitor, fitness trainer, and online gym coach.
Adding that she didn’t think much of it, Alma — who happens to be an NPC Wellness competitor, fitness trainer, and online gym coach decided to let the man in when she noticed him at the gym’s locked door; as she was exercising alone, thinking it was just a “dude” coming to work out because she claimed that she had seen the guy at the gym before.
However, it was a big mistake. It would appear that the man, later identified as 25-year-old Xavier Thomas-Jones, was more interested in hitting on her than actually going to the gym since Alma’s focus switched back to her workout.
According to The Blaze, a few minutes after being permitted entry to the gym, Xavier Thomas-Jones—who can be seen in the video sporting a white hockey jersey—came up to Nashali Alma and tried to grab her by the waist, but she resisted and yelled at him.
As she tried to dodge his advances, the suspect still continued his advances, going so far as to chase her around the gym equipment, even though Alma, a medical lab technician, ordered the suspect to leave her alone.
Alma recalled in the video posted to Instagram by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
She said,“As soon as he was approaching me, I pushed him, I said, ‘Bro, what the F are you doing? Get away from me. Stop trying to touch me.’ He started chasing me around the bench, and we ended up on the other side of the gym.”
Alma didn’t give up; she fought back vehemently against her attacker, who eventually seized her and forced her to the ground. The fit woman managed to keep her smartphone in her hand as she dealt blows, and even then she fought him off while trying to dial 911 on it.
And when Thomas-Jones finally let go of Alma, she quickly left the gym and headed to a nearby apartment where she called the police and reported the assault.
Fox News, which released a longer video taken by the CCTV cameras at the gym, reported that deputies who were sent to the Inwood Park Apartment Complex to investigate the assault were “disgusted” by what they saw on the video.
“I was disgusted by the suspect’s actions, how he preyed on this young woman. I’m grateful that she came forward, I know her story is going to be an inspiration to other women,”Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Xavier Thomas-Jones
Thomas-Jones, who was a resident of the apartment building where the attack took place, allegedly acknowledged detaining and assaulting Alma because he wanted to have sex with her, according to court documents. Thankfully, Alma put up a fight and stopped him. After being located by authorities, Xavier Thomas-Jones was taken into custody and charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping.
“My advice would be to never give up,” the brave young woman has some inspirational advice for others, “My parents always told me in life, to never give up on anything, and that’s one thing I always kept in my mind when I was fighting him. As long as you don’t give up, you fight back, you show him that you are strong, that you are one, that you’re able to fight back and survive this and get out of the situation — I believe it’s possible,”Alma said.
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